Summer running is both a blessing and a curse. Beautiful sunrises, warm temperatures, and a lot more sunlight are the pros. The one major con? Humidity. But more on that later…
When I began training for my first distance race of the season back in January, I didn’t fully grasp what was in store for me. As my first training cycle warped into my second for Grandma’s Marathon, I started feeling a little burnt out. When that happened, I started questioning my sanity of trying to tackle three long distance races in one year. Now that I’m firmly into my third training cycle, I’m exhausted. But I’m not burnt out. Each of my training cycles has been vastly different than the one before and I’m certain these differences have kept my sanity intact. I also think my two week break between Grandma’s and my current cycle really helped a lot.
Not gonna lie, though, last week was tough! I ran a lot of miles and didn’t get a whole lot of sleep. Plus the humidity — oy! What do I love/hate about summer running? Well, I mostly love it. But I have to say I don’t love the humidity. It doesn’t bother me often, but when it does it feels like an oppressive blanket trying to push me down and smother my lungs. It’s no good!
Summer Running {Marine Corps Marathon Training: Week 3}
Tuesday — 6 miles
I ran with my friend Eugenia on Tuesday. It was very nice and relaxed. We had a lot of catching up to do and even got in some nice unplanned-due-to-runner’s-fuzzy-math speed work at the end. (This is the part I love about summer running!)
Wednesday — 8 miles
We had a nice group come out for a group run on Wednesday morning. We ran as a pack and were running a little faster than I was planning, but it was all good. After the group left, I met up with one of my 5K runners for a little speed session. It decided to pour on us to start which was kind of nice since it was so humid anyway. We ran nice and easy as a warm-up and cool-down, with some fartlek running peppered in for good measure.
Summer Running
Thursday — 5.06 miles
Thursday was a disaster. I’ve been running early in the mornings for the last couple weeks partly because my schedule is dictating the time I run, but also because it’s too hot to run mid-morning. When I woke up on Thursday morning it was storming and obviously didn’t get my run in as planned. I was worried there would be storms again on Friday morning so I opted to run around noon. It was 78˚ with 80% humidity. Translation: it was 90˚. As soon as I stepped out of my car I knew I would be in trouble. I wasn’t carrying water because I had water fountains along my route, but it was incredibly uncomfortable. Somehow my splits didn’t suffer but I learned my lesson — never again. (This is the part I hate about summer running…)
I’m dying. Send water.
Saturday — 14 miles + 1.42 cycling miles
Long run Saturday came with a vengeance. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. But before I knew it, I had a 14 mile run ahead of me and a client after that to boot.
I ran with my friends Ben and Julie for most of my run. I had to run two miles solo but that was the easy part. Strangely enough, my splits were fairly regular for the entire run with the exception of being flanked by fast paces for the first two miles and for the last. How that worked out is beyond me, but it was pretty neat!
After the run I headed home to eat, shower, and put on compression socks. I met my newest runner for her first workout on Saturday afternoon. She did such a great job and I’m thankful she understood why I couldn’t run her miles with her!
Sunday — 2.71 miles
I had grand plans to ride my bike again on Sunday to meet with my 5K runners but my coach had other plans. I debated for about an hour whether I should run or ride, but I decided to run. The miles were nice and easy. Am I tired while I sit here and type? Yep. Am I glad I ran instead of cycled? The verdict’s still out on that one.
Between going to bed late, high humidity, and a higher load of miles than I had been running, last week was tough. This week? I’ll be working harder. Hills, a time trial, and 16 miles are all on the plan for the week. I foresee lots of naps in my future…
xo
TALK TO ME!
Has it been humid by you?
Do you make an effort to run early in the morning in the summer?
…gotta love summer running!
Linking up with HoHo Runs and MissSippi Piddlin’ for the Weekly Wrap, and My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs for Tuesdays on the Run.
